Le fil d'actualité : News Tank Academic

Hungarian government moves to free universities of political control

The Hungarian government, led by Prime Minister Péter Magyar, has passed a constitutional amendment dissolving the 34 public-interest trusts (PITs or KEKVA in Hungarian), which control major state assets, including 21 universities, and the Sovereignty Protection Office. Assets granted by the state to KEKVA foundations will revert to the state on the day following the constitutional amendment...

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Alliances and UK universities prepare for Erasmus+ association to open new opportunities as full members

As the United Kingdom rejoins the EU mobility programme, Erasmus+, in 2027, UK universities will regain access to European funds to participate in European university alliances, opening the way for a potential new wave of alliances including UK members."The first 17 alliances started at the end of 2019, and the UK left Erasmus+ in 2020, after which the other alliances started, so the UK is not...

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Commission President says all Hungarian students can rejoin Erasmus+ community next academic year

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has said that the new Hungarian Prime Minister, Péter Magyar, "made great progress on the protection of fundamental rights in Hungary, notably on academic freedom", therefore unlocking frozen funds from the EU and securing the return of all Hungarian students to Erasmus+ programme from the next academic year.On 29/05/2026, during a...

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Commission warns dual-use research rules may lead to non-EU countries' exclusion from Horizon projects

The European Commission has warned that non-EU countries that are part of the EU’s Horizon Europe programme stand a higher chance of being excluded from dual-use research projects. In an internal document published on 30/04/2026, the Commission sets out its thinking on the rules for dual-use research, i.e. into technologies and devices that can have civilian and defence applications. The EU’s...

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French government to limit exemptions from fees for non-EU university students

The French government has published a decree to progressively limit exemptions from fees for non-EU students. The share of non-EU students that each university can exempt will be reduced from 30% in 2027, to 25% in 2028, and 20% from 2029 onwards.Public higher education institutions in France have had different tuition fees for EU students (€178 for a bachelor's, €254 for a master's in 2026)...

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European academic and research organisations call for open science to be a pillar of the ERA Act

Six European organisations representing universities, research-performing organisations, libraries, scholarly infrastructures and academies of sciences and humanities have published a statement calling for accelerated progress in the future ERA Act to achieve open science.The six organisations argue that while some policy progress has been made, substantial "financial, linguistic and geographic...

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EU research ministers set to miss target of deal on Horizon Europe by month's end

EU research ministers will not be able to agree on their position on the next Horizon Europe programme for 2028-2024 at the end of May, falling short of a target set by Cyprus’s presidency of the Council of the EU. Several sources in the EU institutions told News Tank Academic that member states have dropped the goal of reaching a “partial general agreement” on the file, as too many issues...

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Non-EU countries urge equal access to Horizon Europe and day-one inclusion in FP10

Four non-EU countries that are part of Horizon Europe have called on the Council of the EU to ensure their smooth association with FP10 from day one, to keep topic exclusions to a minimum and to guarantee equal treatment for associated countries in applications and collaborative projects.Four university associations from the UK (the Russell Group), Canada (U15), Switzerland (swissuniversities) and...

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ERC grant pressure driven by chronic underfunding, ERC grantees say

The Association of European Research Council Grantees (AERG) and the Ambassadors for the ERC network have stated that the real problem behind the massive increase in the number of applicants to the ERC lies not in the ambition of researchers, but in chronic underfunding.The two networks responded on 12/05/2026 to recent developments regarding the evaluation of ERC grant proposals. On 16/04/2026,...

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Number of students doubled in 20 years globally, mobility tripled but geographical inequalities remain

The number of students enrolled in higher education worldwide has more than doubled over the past two decades and international mobility has tripled over the same period, but serious geographical inequalities remain, according to the first Higher Education Global Trends Report from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).The UNESCO report was published on...

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UK and EU announce start of negotiations on UK participation in European Innovation Council Fund

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the UK Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, have agreed to commence negotiations on UK participation in the European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund, including the Scaleup Europe Fund.The announcement was made on 04/05/2026 after a meeting between von der Leyen and Starmer at the European Political Community summit in Armenia, aiming to...

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João Gomes Cravinho appointed Rector of the College of Europe

The College of Europe has appointed João Gomes Cravinho as Rector for a renewable five-year mandate. Cravinho’s appointment was decided by the Administrative Council of the College of Europe on 30/04/2026, following the proposal of its Academic Council. Ewa Ośniecka-Tamecka will continue leading the College as Acting Rector until Cravinho takes office.He holds a doctorate in Political...

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